Did the pilots alleviate transportation poverty?
Many participants in this study, in East Oakland and Bakersfield face transportation poverty conditions. Transportation poverty afflicts many low-income households, and can include spending large amounts of time and/or income to travel. Transportation poverty can also mean facing dangerous travel conditions, or sacrificing taking trips due to lack of available mobility options or lack of funds.
Participants in both locations reported better transportation experience during the pilots in terms of the various elements of transportation poverty, including affordability, ease of access, travel time, safety, and pleasure. Participants in car-oriented Bakersfield were youth, with an average age of 20.5 years, and 74% of pilot participants reported to have zero cars owned or leased by household members, while 16% reported one car owned or leased by household members. Furthermore, the Chart below, [Difficulty Accessing Basic Needs] shows how the baseline for Bakersfield participants was lower, but marginal improvements were shown in both pilot locations.
Access to basic necessities
There was also improvement reported in terms of accessing particular basic needs, such as work and healthcare.
For example, 38% of the Oakland control group reported missing work due to transportation problems in the two months preceding the post-pilot survey, compared to only 8% of pilot participants (while using their prepaid card).
Among Oakland pilot participants, 48% reported missing a healthcare appointment due to transportation problems in the two months preceding the pre-pilot survey, compared to only 24% of these same individuals in the post-pilot survey (while using their prepaid card). Similar trends were observed in Bakersfield.